When the subject of Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III came up on Thursday morning on ESPN’s “First Take” show, Rob Parker decided that it was the appropriate time to bring up whether Griffin was black enough or not.

‘Cornball brother’

“…My question, which is just a straight, honest question, is … is he a ‘brother,’ or is he a cornball ‘brother?’ He’s not really … he’s black, but he’s not really down with the cause. He’s not one of us. He’s kind of black, but he’s not really like the guy you’d want to hang out with… He has a white fiancé, people talking about that he’s a Republican … there’s no information at all…”

Skip Bayless, never content to let someone else have the last infantile, stupid remark, upped the ante with this question:

“What do RG3’s braids say to you?”

“To me, that’s very urban,” Parker continued, seemingly determined to dig his own professional grave. “It makes you feel like … I think he would have a clean cut if he were more straight-laced or not … wearing braids is … you’re a brother. You’re a brother. If you’ve got braids on.”

‘No basis’

Parker, in his position as a supposed journalist, has insulted an individual of color to a cruel and unbelievable degree by actually bringing Robert Griffin’s “blackness” to the forefront, and openly questioning it with no basis in fact, no knowledge of the person, and no sense of responsibility.

We tend to expect preposterous stuff from this show — after all, that’s what that show does. But what Rob Parker said went far beyond the parameters of “opinion” and veered quickly into something that should have ESPN seriously considering whether they want Parker representing even their worst traffic jam of a media product.

Do you think Rob Parker went overboard with his comments about RG3’s “blackness”? Should ESPN hold on to Parker, or should they start doing something about his “opinion” problems? Feel free to share your thoughts on this latest sports issue!

Maybe kids today are already wise enough to see these things, but back when I was in school, it would have been nice to know that …

#5. The Things That Make You Cool Now Mean Nothing After Graduation. It’s a sort of social hierarchy that’s built around a person’s activities, looks, fashion sense and taste in entertainment, a power structure that seems to mean everything for a few years and immediately evaporates within days of graduation.

#4. Not Every Teacher Knows What They’re Teaching. When you’re a kid, you don’t realize that your teachers aren’t necessarily any wiser than the average person, and may in fact be undergoing medication for numerous mental illnesses.

#3. No One Gives a Crap About Your Crusades. Remember, most of what matters in here probably doesn’t matter out there. It’s a bubble where all of the priorities are upside-down — the contest for Prom King is huge, the kid getting terrorized by bullies means nothing.

#2. Pep Rallies Are Commercials. They’re not trying to get the team pumped up. They’re trying to get you pumped up, because the games need to make money.

#1. Nobody Has Any Clue What They’re Talking About. Everybody has an opinion, and never in my life have I heard people so eager to express those opinions than when I was in high school. Eventually, you find that the opinions you used to have weren’t actually your opinions at all, but rather a soupy puddle of other people’s regurgitated ideas that sounded cool at the time. It’s part of growing up.

A few years after graduation, it’ll all make sense. Maybe you can pass this article along to your own teenage relatives and watch them roll their eyes. Then you can sit back and watch the cycle start all over again with them.